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The Ritz. I stayed there once when I was younger and my mother took us to New York for a work trip. I remembered it fondly. So, I nodded in agreement.
“Ms. Adams?”
I turned toward the male voice. “Yes?”
The man had long brown hair that nearly reached his jaw. He had a scar over his left eyebrow, making him look older, but he couldn’t have been much older than me. He had the same creases around his eyes as Jake’s but his eyes were light blue, not gray. He wore a suit and tie and stretched out his hand for me to shake. Fresh scratches covered the top of his right hand and I couldn’t help but stare.
He smiled sheepishly.
Then it hit me. “Did I do that?”
He shrugged. “I’m sorry about earlier. It was all Jake’s idea and the blame should be entirely on him.”
His boyish smile and remarks endeared me to him. “I guess I should apologize for the scratches, but I won’t.” I winked at him, and he chuckled.
I shook his hand, and I thought I heard a growl somewhere behind me in Jake’s vicinity.
“Are you ready to go, Nikole?” he asked behind me.
“Yes,” I said, at the same time Will replied, “Not yet.”
“Why? What’s the holdup?” Jake asked.
“There’s something I need to show Ms. Adams. I haven’t even had a chance to discuss it with you yet, Jake.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“We found this note on the desk by the window.”
Will handed me a lined piece of paper that was ripped out of one of my journals. Written in blue ink was the message, “Next time it will be your head smashed into tiny pieces if you don’t give us the drive.”
“What drive? What is he talking about?”
Will pursed his lips. “Well, we were hoping you would tell us.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what it means. Have you tried asking my mother?”
“Christian is with her now. We’ll follow up and see if she knows anything about a drive.”
“I’ll come with you,” I said.
“You will?” asked Jake.
“Yes.” I turned to him. “As an attorney, I’m a pretty good investigator. And besides, my mother doesn’t open up to anyone, barely even me. If you have any hope of getting information from her, you’ll need me.”
Will nodded. “All right, then. Ms. Adams, lead the way.”
***
The three of us stood at my mother’s door and waited for her to answer. I sensed Jake behind me as Will stood by my side.
A moment later, my mother answered the door. “Oh, thank goodness you’re all right, Nikole. When I heard about the break-in, I nearly had a heart attack. Come in, come in.”
“Thanks, Mom. And, um, I had no intention of upsetting you. It’s not like I had planned for this to happen.”
“No, no. Of course, not. You just know how sensitive I am.”
My mother was the least sensitive person I knew. She was driven, hard-working, and tenacious, but sensitive, not really. But I let it go.
